


.. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.--

by always_an_anxious_mess



Category: Minecraft - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Blood, Deaf, Deaf Character, Explosions, Graphic Descriptions of Injuries, They’re trapped and have to be rescued, Tommy needs a hug, Wilbur blew up Manburg, a lot of it, do not bash on me if its not terribly realistic, i am hearing, i am trying my best, i have researched to the best of my ability to write a deaf charaacter, just a warning, listen, no one dies smile
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:48:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27498949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/always_an_anxious_mess/pseuds/always_an_anxious_mess
Summary: Wilbur blew up Manburg.Everyone got out, thanks to Tommy’s warning.Or did they?(Title translates to: IM SORRY)
Relationships: shipper dni
Comments: 229
Kudos: 1272
Collections: short fics that i like, spain but the s is silent





	1. Chapter 1

Tommy groaned as he regained consciousness. His head was throbbing badly, and it felt like that his head pulsed with every beat of his heart. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

He was laying on his stomach. One of his arms was beneath him, and the other was throbbing fiercely but he could move it. His legs were crushed. He could move one of them without trouble, but when he tried to shift the other an immediate white-hot pain shot from his ankle to his hip.

So don’t move that leg. Good to know.

His ears were ringing, so bad that it was painful. A warm liquid was dripping down his neck, coming from his ears.

Breathing was hard. It felt like he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. His nose wasn’t working right, but the air tasted like smoke and ash.

He coughed, blearily opening his eyes. The air was hazy, and it stung his eyes fiercely. He couldn’t see anything.

Tommy closed his eyes again, screwing them shut again as the ringing grew louder and more painful.

Then, suddenly, there was a hand, gently touching his face.

Tommy forced his eyes open, blinking as coughs shook his body again. His eyes were watering from the haziness that stung his eyes.

But through blurry vision and low light of the sun peaking through the rubble around them, he could make out Tubbo.

Tubbo had blood dripping down one side of his face, and his hair and clothes were torn and smeared with ash and blood. Tears were running down his face, and his mouth was moving quickly, as if he was rambling.

But Tommy couldn’t hear him.

Tommy stared at him with confused eyes. His brain felt like swimming through honey.

Why was Tubbo crying? Why couldn’t Tommy hear anything? Why was Tubbo bloody? Why couldn’t Tommy move his legs without them hurting?

Tubbo’s mouth was still moving at a mile a minute.

“I can’t... hear you...” Tommy’s tongue felt heavy in his mouth, and it was hard to move his jaw in order to form words.

He couldn’t hear his own voice either.

Tubbo immediately froze, his eyes widening.

“I can’t... hear... me...” Tommy swallowed, his throat was raw and bumpy, as if he was sick. It was making it very painful and hard to talk. He didn’t even know if he was audible.

Tubbo started crying again.

Tommy felt a rumble go through the ground.

Immediately Tubbo was on top of him, cradling Tommy’s head into Tubbo’s chest as the ground continued to shake violently.

Eventually, the shaking stopped, and Tubbo got off of him. There were a lot more rocks on the ground then there were before, and Tubbo was covered in more ash and dirt now.

“What’s happening...?” Tommy asked, shifting his arm to try and rub the smoke out of his eyes.

A jolt of pain went through his arm, and he inhaled sharply, coughing when he inhaled nothing but dirt and smoke. His fingertips were numb and cold.

Tubbo grabbed ahold of his arm and stilled it. Tommy saw that there was a long piece of green fabric tied around his elbow, above a deep cut that was bleeding sluggishly on Tommy’s forearm

The fabric was Tubbo’s tie.

He had tied it tightly, and Tommy recognized it as a makeshift tourniquet.

“Tubbo,” Tommy croaked out, reaching forward and grabbing Tubbo’s hand. “What’s... what’s happening?”

Tubbo started talking again, but then stopped himself with a frustrated look on his face. He flipped Tommy’s hand over and started tapping on it.

..- / .... ..- .-. .

U HURT

Morse code. Tommy wasn’t good at it. But he knew enough.

“My leg,” Tommy responded, or at least he thought he did. He hoped so. “My ears. Hard to breathe. Can’t move my legs.”

Tubbo’s eyes widened so fast Tommy would have thought they would pop out of his head.

“I can feel ‘em,” Tommy corrected. “Just can’t move ‘em. They’re pinned.”

He really hoped he sounded clear. He wasn’t sure at all if he was even making sense. He was just hoping that his words were forming correctly.

Tubbo instantly looked relieved.

“What’s happening, Tubbo?” Tommy asked weakly.

The tapping started up again.

\- -. -

TNT.

Memories flooded back through him. Wilbur threatening to blow up Manburg.

Tommy yelling at him and storming out of Pogtopia to warn the people of Manburg.

Tubbo had been in the White House, he was the last person Tommy had found.

The hissing.

Tommy had grabbed Tubbo and thrown him under a nearby solid-wood table. He’d dived for the table himself when the world turned to fire.

“How long have we been down here?” Tommy asked.

Tubbo shrugged, tapping his head and closing his eyes for a brief second, miming being knocked out with his hands. He then started tapping again. The taps were growing harder and harder to feel as his hand turned cold.

.. / ..- .--. / ..--- / .... .-.

I UP 2 HR

Tommy exhaled, closing his eyes to relieve some of the stinging briefly before opening them again. The ringing was getting louder, and he flinched away from it. He couldn’t escape it. It hurt, so so bad.

Another trickle of blood ran down from his ears.

Then, suddenly, he was thrust into silence.

The ringing ceased, though the sharp pains in his ears were still there. He was just suddenly thrust into silence like he’d been pulled underwater.

He blinked rapidly, glancing up at Tubbo.

“The ringing’s gone,” Tommy tried to say. He hoped it sounded right. “Still can’t hear.”

Tubbo bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes again.

“Are you hurt?” Tommy asked.

Tubbo shook his head, waving his hand as if to say “not bad”.

Then, Tubbo’s head shot up, eyes widening. His mouth moved, but he wasn’t looking at Tommy, he was looking up.

Pebbles and dirt were falling from the ceiling of the little enclosed space they were in, and Tommy felt whatever was on his legs shift.

White hot pain flared up his injured leg, and Tommy felt his throat vibrate as he screamed, but he didn’t hear it. His eyes squeezed shut as a few tears slipped out.

It felt like someone had taken a knife that was already in his leg and yanked it around in his flesh just to be cruel.

Fingers interlinked with his own cold ones, and Tubbo gently cradled his face.

The arm that wasn’t trapped beneath him was going numb.

Tommy’s shoulders shook violently as he felt, but didn’t hear, himself sob.

It hurt, it hurt so bad.

Tubbo let go of him, and Tommy opened his eyes, blinking away tears. Tubbo had reached up and stuck his hand through a gap in the rubble, his mouth moving quickly as if talking to someone above them.

Was someone there to get them out?

Tommy felt the rubble shift again, and another scream tore its way out of his throat. If he could feel his fingers, he’d bet they’d be digging into the wooden floor.

His leg felt like it was on fire, but he knew his skin wasn’t burning.

It’s just pain. It’s just pain. He could get through pain.

Tubbo looked angry now, defiant, as he shouted up to the people above them.

The ground started shaking again.

Tubbo threw himself over Tommy like before and pulled his head against his chest in order to protect it.

This time, Tommy felt the vibrations in the floor as things hit the ground.

Something banged against Tommy’s injured leg, and he screamed once more.

Tubbo let go of Tommy as soon as it ended, running a hand through Tommy’s hair as a way of comforting him before he reached up into the hole in the rubble again. This time, he kept his other hand on Tommy’s shoulder. Tapping the same pattern over and over again.

\--- -.- / --- -.-

OK OK

Tommy felt himself sob again, and he desperately wished he could move, to throw his arms around Tubbo and never let go.

But he couldn’t feel anything in the arm with the tourniquet, and his other one was pinned beneath him.

The joke always had been that Tubbo was the clingy one.

But right now, when Tommy was in so much pain, he was fine with being called clingy.

Something was pushed off of Tommy’s good leg, and he felt some of the pressure on it lessen. He could move his foot.

Then, there was a hand on Tommy’s good leg, and he damn near started crying harder. Someone was there. They were going to get them out.

He saw Tubbo shout something at whoever was touching his leg, and he felt the rubble move again, pressing up against his bad leg.

Something in his bad leg gave way, and Tommy felt, if not heard, something in his leg crunch.

He opened his mouth to scream, but he knew nothing came out. His voice was gone. He could tell without even being able to hear it.

Tommy was surprised when he felt someone start tapping on his good leg. Also in Morse code.

.. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.--

IM SORRY

Then, a second later.

.-- . .-. . / ... --- .-. .-. -.--

WERE SORRY

Tubbo started tapping on Tommy’s head again.

\- .... . -.-- / -- --- ...- . / .-. --- -.-. -.- ... / .--. .-. --- -... / .... ..- .-. - / .- / .-.. --- -

THEY MOVE ROCKS PROB HURT A LOT

Tommy blinked up at him with tired, tear filled eyes. He couldn’t talk. He couldn’t move his fingers.

But he could tap his foot.

So he tapped his foot to the people outside.

.. / - .. .-. . -.. / .. - / .... ..- .-. - / .- /.-.. --- -

I TIRED IT HURT A LOT

It took a few seconds before Tubbo’s eyes widened and his face turned serious.

-. --- / ... .-.. . . .--. / .. / ... --- .-. .-. -.--

NO SLEEP I SORRY

Tommy nodded, the best he could anyway. Tubbo ran his fingers gently through Tommy’s hair.

\--- -.-

OK

The fingers on his leg tapped out that to him, and Tommy responded with his foot.

\--. ---

GO

Tommy braced himself as the rubble shifted again and continued to do so without stopping, tears spilling out of his eyes every time something hit his leg until there were just no more tears left for him to shed. His mouth stayed open, screaming silent screams due to his lack of voice and lack of hearing.

He kept his eyes shut tight, not even finding the strength to open them when Tubbo let go of him. The ground shook with footsteps and rubble hitting the ground.

It was so hard to stay awake, but he did. For Tubbo.

At what felt like hours later, he felt multiple pairs of hands grip at him. Grabbing him underneath his arms and yanking him forward with no particular carefulness.

His bad leg scraped the ground, and his body jerked in pain, but no tears fell and his throat didn’t make a sound. At least, as far as he knew anyway. His hearing was still gone.

He was flipped over, onto his back, and he kept his eyes squeezed shut tightly.

Tommy took large gulps of air, finally able to breathe unrestricted for the first time in what he assumed were hours. He coughed violently at the acrid taste of smoke and blood that filled his lungs, but he kept taking deep breaths.

He was picked up, at least three or four pairs of hands carrying him out of wherever he had been.

He refused to open his eyes. Afraid of what he might see.

Tommy was laid down on something, and then was being carried on it away from the taste of smoke and blood. Hands stroked his hair and forehead, and he felt someone tap on his cheek the same phrase over and over again.

.. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- / .. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- / .. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- / .. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.--

IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY

Tommy desperately wanted to fall asleep, to get the pain to leave, but he didn’t. For Tubbo.

He moved the arm that he still had feeling in, the one that had been pinned underneath him for hours, and tapped on someone’s leg.

\--- -.-

OK

Even Tommy himself didn’t know whether he was trying to say “I’m okay” as in reassurance or “you’re okay” as in forgiveness.

Whatever he was laying on slowed to a stop, and Tommy felt the wooden thing vibrate.

Then, a warm liquid was being poured onto his bad leg, seeping into his wounds and numbing away the pain. It was then poured onto his arm and his ribs. Then, he felt a hand cover his eyes as his head was tilted so the liquid that was dripping onto his head would reach his ears.

A healing potion. Or a regeneration one.

Whichever it was, Tommy was grateful. The potion numbed the pain in his body and made him feel more comfortable. Hands continued to stroke his hair and he felt someone tap on his shoulder.

... .-.. . . .--. / -. --- .--

SLEEP NOW

Tommy let himself relax as someone scooped him up with strong arms, one hand beneath his knees and one behind his arms.

Whoever it was, they were warm, with a soft outer layer of clothing and a sense of familiarity.

So, Tommy did as he was told for once in his life.

He fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Tubbo had woken up slowly to the sound of fire crackling and someone coughing.

He was the one coughing.

The last thing he remembered was Tommy bursting into the White House, yelling about how Wilbur was going to light the TNT beneath Manburg.

And then the hissing.

And then Tommy shoving Tubbo underneath a wooden table, before the ground exploded beneath them.

Tubbo blinked open his eyes, the taste of blood on his tongue. His ribs were throbbing something fierce, and it was hard to think around the sharp pain in his head. Blood was dripping down into one of his eyes, so he closed that one and looked around, dazed.

Tommy was lying on his stomach a few feet away, only his head under the table.

The rubble had fallen in a way that had pinned Tommy’s back to the ground. Tubbo couldn’t even see where Tommy’s legs were or if they were hurt.

Tommy was laying in a pool of blood that was coming from a deep gash in his arm, so thinking quickly, Tubbo untied his tie and made it a makeshift tourniquet around Tommy’s arm. The bleeding didn’t stop, but it slowed considerably.

Tommy was also bleeding from his ears. But Tubbo couldn’t do anything about that.

He could only watch, counting the seconds in his head as they passed by. He saw Tommy struggle to break around the rubble that pinned him to the ground, and how his body would instinctively cough around the ash and dirt that surrounded them.

Tubbo desperately strained his ears for any sound of people coming to look for them, he was occasionally calling out but receiving no answer.

Was there even anyone to come and get them? Were the others buried beneath Manburg as well?

Tears ran freely down his face, but Tubbo couldn’t find himself sobbing in despair at their situation. Just crying silently.

Whenever a rumble shook the ground, Tubbo covered Tommy’s body with his own, cradling Tommy’s head to his chest in order to protect it.

Tubbo was on 7,412 seconds (just over two hours) when he saw Tommy’s eyelids flutter open and then shut as he coughed violently.

Tubbo rested a nervous hand on Tommy’s cheek, causing him to open his eyes again.

“Tommy!” Tubbo said, relief flooding through him. “I was so worried, I didn’t think you wee going to wake up? Are you alright? Are you hurt? We’ve been down here a while. Wilbur blew up Manburg. I didn’t think he would actually do it. Were you able to warn anyone else? Or-”

“I can’t... hear you...” Tommy’s voice was slurred and weak.

Tubbo to immediately froze, his mouth slamming shut. Tommy... couldn’t hear him?

“I can’t... hear... me...” Tommy said croakily, staring up at him with cloudy, confused eyes.

Tubbo felt tears well up in his eyes again and he started sobbing.

Tommy couldn’t hear him. Or anything, for that matter. How were they going to get out of here? Was Tommy going to be permanently deaf?

A rumble shook the ground, and Tubbo threw himself over Tommy, wincing at every pebble and pile of dirt that hit his back.

As soon it stopped, Tubbo got off. Tommy was staring at him still, with a dazed look in his eyes. Tubbo wouldn’t be surprised if Tommy had no idea what was going on at all.

“What’s happening...?” Tommy asked, his voice sounding all sorts of wrong. He tried moving his arm, and he winced in pain. Tubbo grabbed his hand and stilled it. “Tubbo... what’s... what’s happening?”

“Wilbur blew up Manburg, Tommy,” Tubbo said, and then a wave of frustration ran over him. Tommy couldn’t hear him. God, he was an idiot.

How were they going to communicate if Tommy couldn’t hear him?

Wait.

Morse code.

That’s how they communicated for several minutes, with Tubbo tapping out Morse code as Tommy responded verbally with slurred, awkward speech.

Then, Tubbo heard footsteps.

His head shot up.

“Hello?” He called, his voice scratchy from inhaling smoke, but it was loud. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

“Who’s there?” Came a muffled response as the footsteps stopped.

“Tommy and Tubbo!” He felt relief wash through him. Someone was there! “We’re down here! Tommy’s hurt!”

“Where are you?” Tubbo could hear the person’s voice a little clearer. “We’ve been digging through the rubble for hours!”

“I just now heard you, you must’ve moved something that made you more audible to me!” Tubbo said.

“Are you hurt, Tubbo? How badly is Tommy injured?” A different voice, this sounded a lot like Niki.

“My ribs hurt a lot, and I’ve got a headache, but Tommy’s worse,” Tubbo responded truthfully. “He’s been pinned. I can’t see his legs. I had to tie a tourniquet around his arm so he wouldn’t bleed out. He... he can’t hear anything either, I think he has a concussion too, from the way he’s acting.”

“We’re going to move something, I think you’re nearby. Brace yourselves!” The first voice, which sounded a lot like Eret, now that Tubbo thought about it. What was Eret doing here?

The rubble around them shook, and Tommy screamed, his whole body tensing. Tubbo immediately turned his attention to him and grabbed Tommy’s hand. Tears were running down Tommy’s face.

Tubbo had never seen Tommy cry before.

It was a strange sight.

“What happened?” Niki asked, her voice sounded worried.

“Whatever you moved must have knocked against his leg!” Tubbo responded. “He said one of his legs was hurting a lot. The other is just pinned, I think. But one of them is hurt pretty bad.”

“Okay, we’ll be more careful. But I don’t think we can afford stopping right now,” a third voice. Was that... Techno? “How long ago did you tie the tourniquet?”

“Over two hours,” Tubbo’s throat was bothering him, and it was getting hard to talk.

“Then if we don’t move fast, he’s going to lose that arm,” Techno said urgently. “Whatever happens to his leg we can fix with potions, but if that arm isn’t fixed soon, not even a regen potion will save it. The tourniquet was a smart choice, and most certainly saved his life, but we need to get him out as soon as possible.”

“Is there a gap in the rubble at all that you can stick your hand through? So we know where you are?” Eret asked.

“Uh...” Tubbo looked around, and spotted one above Tommy’s head. He shoved one of his hands through and was met with open air. He waved the hand back and forth, lashing it around.

“I see you!” Niki cried, and then someone’s fingers laced through his. Tubbo squeezed the other person’s hand.

“My hand is right above Tommy’s head,” Tubbo explained, relief flooding out of him even more. He’s laying on his stomach, I think his legs should be pointing this way,” he let go of the hand and pointed in the direction he thought Tommy’s legs might be.

The rubble shifted again, and another scream tore it’s way out of Tommy’s throat.

Tubbo went to withdraw his hand, to comfort Tommy, but he felt Niki grab hold of his wrist.

“Don’t go! We need to get you out first!”

“I’m not going anywhere until he’s safe!” Tubbo retorted, anger filling him. “You guys knocked against him again. He doesn’t know what’s happening, Niki! He can’t hear you or me! We’ve been using Morse code this whole time, but I haven’t been relaying any of this to him!”

“Do you not know sign?” Techno rumbled.

“Only a few letters Tommy showed me once. How to spell my own name, really,” Tubbo admitted. “He wouldn’t be able to sign anything anyway. One arm’s pinned underneath him and the other one is the one I had to tourniquet.”

A rumble shook the ground, and Tubbo yanked his arm away from Niki and threw himself over Tommy as unstable debris rained from the ceiling.

He heard Tommy scream again, his voice growing more and more hoarse. Something heavy fell from above them and hit Tubbo’s back, causing him to grunt in pain.

When the ground stopped shaking, Tubbo climbed off of Tommy, running his fingers through Tommy’s hair as he sobbed.

He left a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, repeatedly tapping OK in Morse code on it, and stuck his other one back through the hole.

“We’re okay!” Tubbo said hoarsely. He felt someone grab his hand again.

“Some of the debris shifted, we can see one of Tommy’s legs,” Techno said, his voice slightly muffled. “We’re going to get this chunk off of it. We’ll be careful.”

“You better be,” Tubbo said fiercely, despite how tired he was. “I’m not sure how much more he can take. He looks like he’s about to pass out.”

“Do not let him fall asleep,” Techno said urgently.

“I know.”

Tubbo heard some muffled chatter from behind the debris, and a few scraping noises.

He saw the moment the chunk must have been moved, because Tommy’s facial expression changed to one of hope, instead of being tense from pain.

“That must’ve been his good leg!” Tubbo called out.

And then there was a loud crunch. Someone let go of his hand, and he heard several people gasp.

He saw when Tommy tried to curl into himself and start crying again, his mouth open but no sound coming out.

“Wait, what’d you do?” Tubbo felt panic start to creep into his voice again.

He heard the sound of someone throwing up outside.

“The rubble shifted after we moved that boulder,” Techno’s voice sounded unsteady and muffled. “We can see his bad leg too now. It’s... it’s not good.”

Tubbo glanced down at Tommy, surprised to see him with a hopeful look on his face, despite his cloudy eyes and pained expression.

Tubbo rested a hand on Tommy’s head and tapped out a message. THEY MOVE ROCKS PROB HURT A LOT.

Tommy stared at him with tear filled eyes and an exhausted, pained expression.

“He... he says he’s tired. That it hurts a lot.” Was that Fundy? Why was Fundy here?

Tubbo narrowed his eyes at Tommy and replied. NO SLEEP I SORRY.

Tommy nodded shakily, sighing. He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, and Tubbo felt the debris move again. Tears ran down Tommy’s cheeks, and his mouth was partially open with silent screams of pain.

“What’s happening? What are you doing?” Tubbo asked worriedly, shoving his hand farther in the gap in the rocks.

A loud thunk shook the table they were sheltered under, and Tubbo scrambled away from the sound, withdrawing his hand and cradling Tommy’s head in order to protect him.

The noise continued, sounding an awful lot like an axe going into a tree trunk.

That’s when Tubbo realized that it was an axe. Someone was hacking away the table to get to them.

Light poured into the small cavern he and Tommy had been in for several hours, and Tubbo had to shield his eyes against it until they adjusted.

Quackity was crouched by the hole in the table he’d just made with the axe in his hand, his suit and face were smeared with ash and dirt.

“I got in! Techno, Niki! I got in!” Quackity grinned, looking exhausted.

Immediately the rubble stopped moving and footsteps sounded. Tubbo squinted into the light to see who it was.

Quackity took a step back, and revealed Niki, Fundy, Eret, Techno, Punz, and Ant all standing there covered in various amounts of dirt and ash, all looking as exhausted as Tubbo felt, and he hadn’t been the one digging through the remains of Manburg looking for him.

“I’m not leaving without him,” Tubbo said weakly, all of his previous courage gone now that his body knew he was safe. He was being rescued.

“You have to get out for us to get to him,” Niki said gently.

“I’m not leaving. He gets out first.”

“Tubbo, we can’t get to him with you still in there,” Fundy explained. “It’s fucking tiny in there. You have to get out first.”

“No,” Tubbo said again, dazed. The adrenaline of being trapped was wearing off, and his brain felt foggy and his limbs felt heavy. “I’m not leaving him.”

They all exchanged a glance with each other, but Tubbo couldn’t really focus anymore. The light was really bothering him, irritating his headache to no end.

He felt a pair of hands grab him underneath his arms more than he saw them, and he tried to fight it, but he was just carried out anyway.

Tubbo was vaguely aware of being put on a wide cart-like thing that was attached to a few horses. There was someone else laying on the cart, and he vaguely recognized it as Wilbur before Bad was in his face.

“Follow my finger with your eyes, Tubbo,” Bad instructed, holding up his finger and moving it side to side.

Tubbo tried, he really did.

“Okay, you have a concussion,” Bad hummed and put his hand down before running a light touch across his ribs.

Tubbo flinched violently at the painful contact, and was only vaguely aware of someone taking off his suit jacket and unbuttoning his once-white shirt. His undershirt was pulled up, but not off.

“Definitely broken ribs,” Bad lowered Tubbo’s undershirt and turned. “Drink this.”

A glass bottle with bright red liquid was thrust into his hands. Not really having the strength to protest or question what the liquid was, Tubbo did as he was told.

The pain numbed almost immediately after he’d drained the entire thing, and Bad took the empty bottle from him.

“Lay down. Now that their getting Tommy out, it won’t be long before we head back to the medbay in Pogtopia,” Bad instructed.

Tubbo did as he was told, laying down on the wooden cart as he closed his eyes against the sun. He felt fingers gently brush his wrist.

“I’m sorry,” Wilbur said croakily from where he was laying on the other side of the cart. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Tubbo didn’t have time to respond as panicked shouting filled the air, and he felt another body be laid between him and Wilbur.

Then, the cart was moving.

The ground was uneven, and it made Tubbo sick. He ended up throwing up over the side of the cart on the way to the tunnels.

He could only listen to Wilbur cry, and stare at Tommy’s pale, dirty face that was still tense with pain.

Tubbo felt fingers tap on his thigh. OK.

“He says okay,” Tubbo said, dazed, to Wilbur. He wasn’t sure why. He just had a feeling that it had been meant for Wilbur.

The cart slowed to a stop, and Tubbo saw Bad rush over and start pouring health potions onto Tommy’s wounds. His ears, his ribs, his arm...

His leg.

His leg that was bent at an extremely unnatural angle and that had blood soaking everything in it’s path. Something white was jutting out of his shin.

Tubbo did not want to find out what that was, though he already knew.

He watched, in a haze, as Tommy’s wounds started glowing and he was picked up by Technoblade, being carried down into the tunnels that lead to Pogtopia.

Wilbur was urged up and out of the cart, his hands tied together with rope as he was also led into Pogtopia’s tunnels.

Tubbo was next, but he wasn’t tied. The minute he tried to stand, a wave of dizziness and nausea rushed over him so badly that he vomited again. So instead, he felt that someone picked him up.

The man who picked him up was blonde, with hair that was slightly too long, and with a stubble on his chin. His eyes were blue, like Tommy’s, and he had a kind expression on his face. He was also wearing some kind of soft coat, that Tubbo wanted to snuggle into.

The man just gave him a small smile, and he was carried into Pogtopia.

Tubbo didn’t remember much after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo’s POV for when they were trapped :)


	3. Chapter 3

Tommy woke up to silence.

His whole body was sore. His ribs and shoulder blades ached fiercely, and his injured arm throbbed. His ears kept sending stabbing pains through his skull, adding to the already dull throb that had started in the back of his head.

His leg didn’t hurt though. Thankfully.

His eyes blinked open, finding himself in a bed that was in a room he’d never been in before. There were other beds near him, some filled and some not.

The walls were made of stone, but instead of a doorway leading out there just... wasn’t a fourth wall. As far as Tommy could tell, the wooden floor continued past the confines of the wall and then dropped off.

Weird.

Tommy’s brain was foggy and it was hard to process his surroundings properly. He could tell that the other people in the beds were also injured, but they were too far away for his eyes to recognize them when his brain wasn’t working right.

He did recognize one person though. They weren’t in a bed though.

Phil. His dad. Phil.

Phil was sitting in a chair to the right of the bed Tommy was in, his signature green and white striped hat had been placed on the ground next to his feet.

He hadn’t changed a bit, but he wasn’t looking at Tommy. He was staring at the person in the bed next to Tommy’s, on Phil’s other side.

Tommy didn’t know who it was, his vision wasn’t clear enough in the dim light.

Phil’s head eventually swiveled and his eyes lit up when he saw Tommy staring back at him. He gave Tommy a smile, and he reached forward to brush Tommy’s hair out of his face.

_“How are you?”_ Phil signed, having taken his hand back in order to do the particular signs.

They’d all learned sign language because of Techno. He’d been selectively mute when he was younger, but that had faded when he was older and trusted them more. None of them had used sign language in years, unless Techno was having a particularly bad day and couldn’t talk.

Tommy tilted his head, giving him a weak smile. _“OK. H-U-R-T.”_ He fingerspelled “hurt”, because it was a sign that was typically used with two hands and his other hand hurt too badly for him to try and use it.

_“Ears?”_ Phil asked, shifting his expression to signify it was a question.

Tommy shrugged, lifting up his good hand and holding it near his ear.

He snapped his fingers.

Nothing.

Tommy shook his head, his hand falling back down to the bed.

He can’t hear.

It hadn’t really set in until then.

Phil tapped his shoulder, making Tommy refocus on him. _“How bad? Everything. 1-10.”_

Tommy thought for a while, narrowing his eyes slightly to brace against his ever growing headache. _“Seven.”_ He decided.

Phil laughed. He actually laughed. Well, at least, Tommy thought he did. He couldn’t hear him.

_“Strong,”_ Phil signed when he stopped laughing. He poked Tommy gently in the chest and gave him a smile that was holding back tears. _“You’re strong.”_

Tommy stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head no.

He wasn’t strong.

He just couldn’t feel most of the pain.

A hand tapped the foot of his good leg, and he found Bad smiling at him from the end of the bed. Bad held out a glass bottle full of a pale pink liquid. It was a potion. Probably regeneration.

Phil grabbed it for Tommy and placed it on the ground. _“You sit up,”_ he signed to him, before reaching forward and gently grabbing Tommy’s shoulders.

Tommy nodded, and gritted his teeth together as he forced himself into a sitting position with Phil’s help. His ribs and back seemed to screech in protest at the movement, but he just clutched at the sheets of the bed tightly with his good hand.

Phil held the bottle while Tommy drank the whole thing, his non-injured hand digging into the mattress. By the end of it, Tommy’s body felt tingly and his brain was slowly becoming less foggy. The pain numbed, too. Thankfully.

The pain that spiked in his ears still remained, though it wasn’t as sharp as before. His throat was no longer sore, though Tommy doubted that his voice was any better after all the screaming he’d done.

Tommy grabbed Phil’s hand to get his attention and made Tubbo’s name sign at him.

He’d made it for Tubbo because he’d asked after he had found out Tommy knew sign language. Who was Tommy to refuse?

Phil stared at him blankly, confusion written over his face.

Tommy did the sign again, his frustration showing on his face and in his movement.

Phil grabbed his hand to still him, before signing. _“What?”_

Tommy, growing even more frustrated, fingerspelled Tubbo’s name instead.

Phil stared at him for another couple seconds, before turning to Bad. Tommy also glanced over, noticing Bad’s mouth was moving. Phil said something in return, and then Bad brightened up.

Bad tapped on Tommy’s foot to get his attention, which was unnecessary since Tommy was already looking at him, and pointed to the bed to the left of Tommy.

Tommy followed the point, and saw a mop of brown hair in the bed next to him, snuggled into the sheets. That was Tubbo alright.

Tommy relaxed, nodding at Bad. _“Thank you,”_ he signed, even if Bad didn’t know what that meant.

Phil must have been translating, because a second later, Bad gave him a big smile.

When Bad walked off, Tommy reached over and tapped Phil on the shoulder to get his attention.

_“Others,”_ Tommy signed. _“Everyone safe?”_

Phil nodded. _“No one died. You and T-U-B-B-O were hurt the worst.”_

Tommy immediately felt relieved, glancing around. _“Where are we?”_

Phil laughed, finger spelling. _“P-O-G-T-O-P-I-A. They set up a med-bay for the injured.”_

Tommy smiled softly. _“How did you get here?”_

_“Techno called me after the bombs went off,”_ Phil signed. _“D-R-E-A-M W-H-I-T-E-L-I-S-T-E-D me so I could transfer worlds.”_

Tommy nodded, wiggling the fingers of his injured hand as feeling started to come back into it.

That’s when he heard something.

Like, actually heard something.

His head snapped up and around to the noise he’d heard, eyes narrowing in confusion. He felt Phil tap him to try and get his attention, but Tommy ignored him, scanning the area.

Techno had entered the little med-bay area, a bag over his shoulder that he promptly handed to Bad. His mouth started moving, and Tommy HEARD him.

Well, not heard him, exactly.

There was a noise there, a deep, muffled rumble that Tommy could hear when Techno spoke. But he didn’t hear what he was saying, he just heard what sounded like a much more distorted, unintelligible version of Techno’s voice.

Tommy’s eyes were wide as he tried to process this information.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was SOMETHING. Something other then the horrible silence that Tommy had been surrounded by ever since his ears stopped ringing in the place he and Tubbo had been trapped.

Techno finished with Bad, and Tommy was thrust into silence again when he stopped talking, before he turned and made his way to Tommy’s bed.

_“How are you?”_ Techno signed.

Tommy blinked, refocusing on the situation at hand. _“I heard you.”_ His hands were shaky, which made his signs hard to read, but the general message came across. _“I heard you.”_

Techno’s eyes widened, and his mouth started to move. The rumble was back, but his words weren’t anymore distinct.

Tommy grew frustrated and held out a hand to stop him. _“I can’t hear words. I can just hear your voice, kind of. I can hear you_ _talking. It’s like I’m underwater or something.”_ He was having trouble conveying his thoughts properly, but that was about right.

Techno furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, and Tommy felt Phil tap him on the shoulder to get him to face him.

_“Can you elaborate?”_ Phil asked.

Tommy thought for a moment. _“It’s like, when he talks I hear a noise. But nothing distinct. Kind of like a rumble. Thunder, but much quieter.”_

_“Can you hear me?”_ Phil’s mouth moved when he signed it, presumably just saying the same thing as he was signing.

But there was no rumble from Phil talking, just silence, so Tommy shook his head.

_“Well, that might be a sign of your ears healing,”_ Techno signed. _“I don’t know why you can hear me but not Phil.”_

Suddenly, Techno and Phil looked to the bed to Tommy’s right, as if the person who occupied it was speaking. Tommy couldn’t hear a rumble from them either.

Phil responded to the person, and Tommy was growing frustrated at being left out of the conversation. Whoever was over there was being blocked from Tommy’s view by Phil. He had no idea if that was intentional or not.

Techno said something as well, and the break in the silence was nice, but it still irked Tommy that he couldn’t understand what was being said.

Eventually, after a few minutes, Tommy reached over and nudged Phil back slightly, leaning forward to see who it was.

Tommy physically recoiled when he saw Wilbur’s dark eyes peering at him. Oh God. Wilbur was here. What was he doing here?

Wilbur’s hands were tied together with a rope, and the rope had some slack that was attached to the foot of the bed. Yet, Tommy felt like that wasn’t going to stop him if Wilbur snapped again.

But Wilbur’s eyes were no longer dark and emotionless, they didn’t have a crazed look anymore.

His eyes just looked... sad. Guilty. Defeated.

Tommy maintained eye contact, panic flooding his senses as he froze like a deer in headlights. His heart was beating too fast, and Tommy was slightly aware of a distant rumbling that must have been Techno’s voice, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Wilbur’s.

A hand gently brushed his shoulder, and Tommy flinched violently away from it. It reminded him of cruel fingers digging into his skin, hard enough to leave bruises.

The rumbling grew steadily louder, but the touch withdrew. Tommy closed his eyes and exhaled shakily, before opening them again.

Wilbur had looked away, purposely turning his head so that Tommy couldn’t see his eyes. Despite his hands being tied, one of his hands was formed into a fist, and it was rubbing circles into his chest, over and over again.

_“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,”_ Wilbur was signing, and Tommy couldn’t ignore the tears that we’re rolling down his cheeks.

Tommy looked away, refocusing on the rumbling that was Techno’s voice. It was comforting, actually hearing something. His hand instinctively went out and intertwined with someone else’s for a moment, and then he let go.

He grabbed something nearby, which ended up being the cork to the regen potion he’d drank earlier, and lobbed it at Wilbur as hard as he could.

It beaned him in the back of the head, and Wilbur jerked his head around in surprise, eyes wide.

_“I forgive you, asshole,”_ Tommy signed.

That wasn’t true.

He didn’t forgive him.

But it was easier to say then the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashgjsdhgf I can’t seem to focus on more than one story idea at a time lmao
> 
> Churning out chapters when I should be turning out two essays ;-;


	4. Chapter 4

Many regeneration potions later, Tommy gave up on the hope that his hearing was coming back.

Even his leg, as ruined as it had been, was mostly healed while Tommy’s hearing had barely improved.

After a bit of testing, they figured out that Tommy had lost the ability to hear things that were high-pitched, meaning only the deepest tones were somewhat audible to him.

So Tommy could hear Techno, and Eret, and sometimes footsteps depending on what they were walking on and what shoes they were wearing, but that was about it.

Tommy was surprised at how many people visited him in the med-bay. Quackity, Eret, Niki, Dream, Punz, Fundy.

Even Schlatt came by once.

It had been brief, Schlatt showing up at the end of his bed with an uncomfortable expression. One of horns had been broken in half, and the other had it’s tip chipped off. He wasn’t wearing a suit, which was strange. Just a sweater and jeans and tennis shoes.

Schlatt had taken one look at Phil and hadn’t said a word, just passing a sheet of paper over to Tommy and leaving.

Tommy unfolded the paper, and in neat, orderly handwriting, it read:

_Kid,_

_As much as a pain in the ass you are, you saved my citizens. ~~at the cost of your~~ I owe you my life, and so does everyone in Manburg. ~~I’m not one for sentime~~ You’re a hero, kid. Consider your citizenship restored._

Schlatt was strange, Tommy had decided afterwards. Less of a evil dictator, more of an greedy, paranoid prick.

Tubbo wasn’t handling things well.

When he woke up a few hours after Tommy had and saw that Tommy was awake, he had to be threatened to be tied to the bed, because he was trying to climb out to Tommy so often.

Tubbo had tried to talk to him, with probably a million apologies spilling from his mouth, but Tommy had just stared at him with a sad smile on his face.

Tommy had thrown something at Wilbur, to catch his attention. Before signing at him: _“Translate,”_ because neither Phil nor Techno were present.

Wilbur still seemed surprised that Tommy was willing to interact with him. But he did so.

The conversation went poorly.

Tubbo didn’t seem to understand that Tommy’s hearing hadn’t returned. Wilbur was awful at remembering to sign for when he and Tubbo were talking, so Tommy couldn’t follow the conversation very well.

So they had started arguing, at least that’s what it looked like. And he had no idea what was being said because Wilbur wasn’t moving his fucking hands. So he was just stuck there, staring at them.

Eventually, Tommy got frustrated enough that he slammed his hand on the wooden bed, making a deep thunking noise that Tommy could vaguely hear.

It pulled Tubbo and Wilbur out of their argument, the both of them looking at him with startled looks on their faces.

_“Stop,”_ Tommy signed, eyes narrowed. _“Do this later, especially if you can’t actually allow me to follow the fucking conversation.”_

With that, Tommy laid back down and closed his eyes, essentially blocking him from the world.

The day after, when Phil was there, Tommy tried again to explain everything to Tubbo. But Phil wasn’t much better than Wilbur at signing and talking at the same time. So there were times when Tommy couldn’t follow the conversation, and it pissed him off a lot.

He did get some of it, though. And Phil explained it to him afterwards, when Tubbo was talking with Bad.

_“He blames himself,”_ Phil signed. _“He thinks that if you hadn’t pushed him under the table first you’d still be able to hear. Or that he could’ve done something to help you when you both were trapped.”_

Tommy frowned. _“He shouldn’t blame himself. I made the choice to push him down there first. And he did all that he could while we were down there.”_

_“He doesn’t understand that.”_

Tommy’s throat vibrated in what he assumed was a groan, smacking his hand to his forehead and dragging it down his face in frustration. When he could see again, he saw Bad, Tubbo, and Wilbur all staring at him with concerned looks, but quickly glanced away as soon as they saw him staring back.

_“I don’t know what to do,”_ Tommy admitted. _“When we were down there, we used M-O-R-S-E code to communicate, but neither of us are close enough to reach each other to do that now, and we’re not allowed to leave our beds. He doesn’t know sign andI can’t fucking hear him. I can barely write anything down with how bad my injured hand has been shaking lately and even if they weren’t I doubt he’d be able to read my handwriting anyway. I just want to talk to him, Phil. Make him understand. He doesn’t really have anyone other than me.”_

Phil studied him for a moment. _“Teach him then.”_ At Tommy’s surprised look, he continued. _“Teach him sign. Even if it’s just fingerspell. It would take a while to get the point across, but if it would work. Plus, from what you’ve told me, you both are good friends. He’ll have to learn sign eventually.”_

_“Because my hearing isn’t coming back, is it?”_ It was less of a question, and more of a statement. Tommy knew deep down that it wasn’t coming back.

Phil wilted, and he gave Tommy a sympathetic smile that barely held back tears. _“I don’t think it will. I’m sorry.”_

Tommy looked down, trying to hide the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He scrubbed them away fiercely. He’d known it wasn’t coming back. He’d known. But it still hurt to have his suspicions confirmed.

_“Can’t say I didn’t expect that,”_ Tommy signed without looking up. His hands were shaking worse than normal.

A hand placed itself on Tommy’s shoulder and rubbed gentle circles into his back. Tommy didn’t look up, but didn’t flinch away from the contact, despite the flashes of memories of fingers digging into his arm hard enough to bruise.

He couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that he’d never hear again.

Tubbo’s rambling. Wilbur’s singing. Phil’s laugh. Techno’s sarcasm (at least, not distinctly). Mellohi. Cat. Blocks. Pigstep. Birds chirping. The wind. Moving water. Bees.

The little things.

His shoes squeaking on wooden floors. Doors opening and closing. Arrows flying through the air. Clothes rustling when people moved. Whistling. Swords clanging together. Fingers tapping on wood. Fire crackling.

All things you wouldn’t miss until they weren’t there anymore.

Someone was messing with his hair. To get his attention, probably. It worked, as he smacked their hand away and wiped the tears from his face, putting on a defiant, annoyed face in hopes of scaring whoever it was off.

Techno just gave him an unimpressed look, withdrawing his hand from Tommy’s hair. Tommy let the expression fall, knowing that Phil and Techno knew him better than to think he was actually annoyed.

_“Up.”_ Techno signed.

_“What?”_

_“Get up,”_ Techno continued, grabbing his uninjured arm and tugging on it gently. _“You sit here any longer and all your muscles are going to waste away.”_

_“My leg,”_ Tommy protested.

_“The bone has been set and you’ve drank eight R-E-G-E-N potions in the past two days,”_ Techno rolled his eyes. _“It’s probably fine. If not, I’ll make you crutches. Get up.”_

Tommy glanced at Phil, wondering if he was going to do anything to stop him, but Phil just raised his eyebrows at Tommy. _“Go on then. Don’t be shy.”_

This is a bad idea, Tommy thought, but he did rotate his bad leg to see how much it hurt when he moved it. Not much, it seemed. So he swung both legs around to the side of the bed, experimentally putting a little weight on his bad leg to see how much it hurt.

A certain spot on his shin throbbed just a bit, but nothing other than that.

Suddenly, Bad was in his front of him, putting his hands on Tommy’s shoulders in an effort to keep him down. His mouth was moving quickly, and Tommy had the vague feeling that he was being chastised.

Instead of stopping, however, he just gripped onto Bad’s arms for support and forced himself to stand up.

Instant pain shot up from his shin to his hip, and Tommy exhaled sharply, his grip on Bad tightening as he grimaced.

Bad was trying to nudge him back down on the bed, but didn’t let him go, thankfully. Tommy was too busy trying to shift his balance so that most of his weight was on his good leg to sit down. It didn’t help much with the sharp, shooting pain that seemed to stab at him every second.

He stood for a few seconds longer, before finally he admitted defeat and sank back onto the bed. Tommy had to assume he did not do so silently, because that hurt a LOT.

His suspicions on not having done that silently were confirmed when Bad immediately started fussing over him. His mouth was moving quickly, but Tommy could only stare at him blankly while he was essentially being lectured.

Tommy didn’t fight Bad, though, when he was forced back into laying down and a health potion thrust into his hands roughly. Bad seemed annoyed, maybe the slightest bit pissed, as he turned to lecture Techno and Phil instead.

Tommy stared at them being lectured, casually downing the health potion and putting the empty bottle on the ground. The pain in his leg numbed, and he grew tired, quite quickly actually.

Techno’s voice rumbling in the background was not helping him stay awake either, as Tommy fought to keep his eyes open.

Oh.

“You snuck a sleeping draught into the potion. You bitch,” Tommy thought. Wait. He didn’t think that. His mouth had been moving. He must have said it.

Oops.

He didn’t have much time to think about it afterwards, as a black wave dragged him down into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hdakjhfjghjg g I apologize for not 100% accurate sign language because I am hearing. I’m trying my best to write it in a way that makes what they’re trying to say easy to read, even if it’s not correct in sign language’s typical sentence structure. I actually started learning sign while writing this, so yes, I know that a lot of things are incorrect. I’m sorry.
> 
> EDIT: formatting is not fucking working right now so thats why the chapter looks like that I swear to god if I spend another thirty minutes trying to fix it I'm going to fucking snap my computer in half so I'll deal with it later sorry
> 
> EDIT2: formatting and minor details have been fixed


	5. Chapter 5

“You snuck a sleeping draught into the potion. You bitch.”

Tubbo jumped, his attention shifting from Bad (who was currently tearing into Techno) to the person who said it.

Tommy.

His voice was croaky, and slurred, and his words were just barely audible over Bad’s yelling, but they were there and unmistakably Tommy’s. It was the first time since they’d been trapped that Tubbo had actually heard him say something.

“Tommy?” Tubbo asked, trying to push himself out of bed despite his throbbing ribs.

“Don’t you get up too!” Bad snapped. “I have enough trouble with him and Wilbur trying to get up every five seconds. You guys are HEALING! Stop hurting yourselves by getting up before your body can handle it.”

“No, he said something,” Tubbo argued. “Tommy said you put a sleeping draught in the potion.”

Everyone froze, and Bad glanced down at the empty glass bottle he’d given Tommy. “That was meant for Wilbur, I grabbed the wrong one.”

“Why was that meant for me?” Wilbur sounded confused.

“In case you started trying to hurt yourself again,” Bad gave him a look, and Wilbur scowled, jerking on the rope that bound him to the bed. His wrists were raw and red from how much Wilbur was pulling on the ropes. “Tommy will sleep it off, he’ll wake up in a few hours or so.”

Tubbo didn’t stop staring at Tommy though.

Tommy, who had bandages around his ears that poked through his hair.

Tommy, who’s leg was splinted and wrapped in order to prevent him from moving it too much.

Tommy, who was deaf.

Because he put Tubbo’s safety over his own.

Tubbo wasn’t sure when everyone left the room, only realizing that they did when someone tapped on his shoulder to get his attention.

Techno was there, and as soon as they made eye contact, Techno sat down on the ground next to Tubbo’s bed. He made a fist and held it up, but instead of his thumb being around his knuckles, it was flattened against the side of his hand.

“A,” Techno grunted, then he made a different shape with his hand. This time he held up his hand like he was giving someone a high-five, but with his fingers pushed together and his thumb tucked against his palm. “B.”

“...what?” Tubbo asked, confused.

“Tommy’s deaf,” Techno said bluntly. “He told Phil that he was frustrated that the two of you couldn’t talk properly. So I’m teaching you fingerspell.”

“His hearing’s going to come back, though,” Tubbo knew deep down that it wasn’t, but he still hung onto the hope that it might. “It’s going to come back, right?”

“He’s drank eight regen potions in two days,” Techno shifted uncomfortably. “If it was coming back, it would be back already.”

Tubbo wanted to cry, but Techno fixed him with a look that made him sniff and swallow down his tears.

“I’m not the emotional guy, that’s Phil or Wilbur,” Techno sounded awkward, which was a tone that Tubbo had never heard from him before. “But this is gonna be a major adjustment for all of us. Tommy needs you, kid. You were one of the first things that he asked about when he woke up the first time. His hearing isn’t going to come back, so if you still want to be there for him, you’re going to have to learn sign.”

Tubbo nodded, sniffling.

“Do the same sign I do when I do it,” Techno instructed. “A,” he made the same sign as before, and Tubbo copied him. “B,” The second sign, and Techno waited for Tubbo to mirror it before moving on. “C,” this was a new one, but it was simple. Techno just cupped his hand until it looked like a C and held it up.

They went through the whole alphabet this way, with Techno repeating the signs at a faster rate afterwards.

“Now go through the whole thing, say the letters out loud while you do it,” Techno nodded at him.

“A, B, C, D, E, F...” Tubbo paused for a moment, struggling to remember the right one for G.

“G,” Techno made the sign for it, and Tubbo copied it.

“G, H, I, J...” Tubbo trailed off, before the right symbol came to mind. “K, L, M, N, O...”

“P is just K, but pointed downwards,” Techno reminded him, and Tubbo nodded.

“P... Q, R, S... T, U, V, W, X-”

“No, no, X is this,” Techno curled his pointer finger but left all the others down.

“X,” Tubbo fixed it. “Y, and Z.”

“Okay,” Techno nodded in approval. “Now do it again. But faster.”

Tubbo groaned.

———

Techno taught him a few other things over the next few hours, such as Tommy’s name sign and 1-10 as well as a few other things. Eventually Techno got tired of Tubbo’s “atrocious” signing and told him that Tommy could correct him when he woke up.

So Tubbo was just waiting for him to wake up.

“Hey Tubbo!” Niki called brightly, entering the medbay area that had been set up in Pogtopia.

“Hey Niki,” Tubbo gave her a smile as she made her way over. She still had bandages wrapped around her hands from how badly she’d cut them when trying to dig them out. Tubbo felt bad about it, but whenever he tried to apologize, Niki would wave him off, saying that there was nothing for him to apologize for.

“How are your ribs? And your head?” Niki asked, sitting down at the edge of the bed.

“Ribs are sore,” Tubbo admitted. “Everything’s not the clearest up here yet, but it’s getting there,” he waved towards his head nonchalantly. “Getting tired of just sitting around, though.”

“And Tommy?” She asked, glancing towards Tommy’s still sleeping form.

“I think his leg is bothering him a lot,” Tubbo frowned. “And his hearing’s still gone. Techno says he doesn’t think it’s coming back.”

Niki let out a quiet gasp, and Tubbo gave her a smile that his heart wasn’t really behind.

“Techno’s teaching me sign language,” he offered. “So I can talk to him. I really only know the letters though.”

“Can you teach me?” Niki asked.

“I’m not the best at it yet,” Tubbo admitted. “Phil or Techno might teach you though, if you ask.”

“I can teach you,” Wilbur said quietly, and both Niki and Tubbo glanced over at him.

“I’d love for you to teach me, Wil,” Niki reassured him. “Are you up to doing it now?”

“Of course,” Wilbur sat up, and Niki got off Tubbo’s bed and went to Wilbur’s instead.

Tubbo smiled at them for a moment as Wilbur explained fingerspell to Niki, before his gaze shifted down towards Tommy.

He jumped slightly when he saw Tommy had rolled over and was staring at him with sleepy blue eyes.

Tubbo waved, a smile on his face. He saw Tommy break into a grin as well, and he shoved the blankets off. Tommy sat up, and Tubbo heard Tommy grunt softly, wincing.

Tommy’s head turned towards Wilbur and Niki, and he frowned.

Tubbo realized quickly that Tommy was probably wanting Wilbur to translate for him. Tubbo couldn’t quite think of a way to catch Tommy’s attention.

Wait.

There was a rock, a small one, on the floor next to his bed. Tubbo bent over, his ribs throbbing in protest at the action as his finger scrabbled for the rock. He managed to grab it, and groaned softly when he straightened up, wincing at the pain coming from his torso.

But he had the rock.

Tubbo, praying to whatever god that was out there that he wouldn’t miss, chucked the rock in Tommy’s direction.

He missed.

It sailed straight over Tommy’s bed, clattering to the ground in between Wilbur and Tommy. Immediately, Tommy, Niki, and Wilbur looked at the rock in confusion. Wilbur and Niki glanced back at Tubbo with questioning looks on their faces.

“Tell him to look at me,” Tubbo said, blushing slightly in the embarrassment of missing.

Niki gave him an exasperated smile, but she waved at Tommy and pointed towards Tubbo.

Tommy turned, eyebrows raised at Tubbo.

Tubbo pointed to Tommy. _“You...”_ He hesitated, what was K again? It was... _“O-K.”_

He saw the moment Tommy realized what he was doing. His eyes widened and then brightened, a huge grin lighting up his face.

Tommy’s hands started moving, too fast for Tubbo to follow. Tubbo stared at him blankly for a moment.

_“I-D-K,”_ Tubbo signed, giving him his best confused look. _“A-B-C O-N-L-Y,”_

Tommy froze, then smacked himself in the forehead and let out a quiet, creaky laugh. _“S-O-R-R-Y,”_ Tommy responded, much slower than he usually signed. _“W-H-O.”_

Tubbo blanked. “Hey Wilbur, what’s Techno’s name sign?” He asked.

Wilbur smiled, and made a T with one hand before thrusting it forward as if he was punching someone.

Tubbo copied the sign, looking back towards Tommy.

Tommy let out another creaky laugh, and Tubbo spotted tears coming from his eyes.

_“M-I-S-S you,”_ Tommy signed.

_“I H-E-R-E.”_

Another laugh, this one a little stronger.

Tubbo felt like crying because finally, finally they could talk. It was slow, and it took him a while to realize what Tommy was saying and form a response that made sense. But they could communicate.

Then he realized he was crying, and so was Tommy. All Tubbo could think about was that they can finally talk, it isn’t radio silence between them anymore. They can TALK.

_“I’m sorry,”_ Tubbo signed, making a fist and rubbing it in circles on his chest. _“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”_

Tommy gave him a smile. “Not your fault,” he said, in a croaky, unused voice. He pointed to his ears and shook his head. “Not your fault.”

Tubbo burst into tears again. Screw staying in bed. Screw his ribs.

Before anyone could stop him, he scrambled out of bed and threw himself into Tommy’s arms, clutching him tightly but warily enough as to not accidentally hurt him. His ribs throbbed and pulsed, sending white-hot spikes of pain through his torso, but he didn’t care.

Tommy hugged him back, and they just cried. Happy to have one another again. Happy to be able to communicate.

Happy to just be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> take my brain rot


	6. Chapter 6

As the days passed, turning into a couple of weeks, Tommy was allowed to start getting out of bed and walking around, albeit with crutches that Techno made for him.

Tommy didn’t like the crutches very much, as they occupied his hands. He couldn’t sign and walk at the same time, so he had to talk instead, and he was constantly worrying if he was saying things correctly.

Phil, Wilbur, and Techno were getting better at signing and talking at the same time, which was a relief. Tommy could follow conversations better. Tubbo was gradually learning from all four of them, as was Niki.

Tubbo was being allowed out of bed too, more often then Tommy was. Wilbur had been cleared to leave the medbay three days ago, and hadn’t been back since. Something about a trial. Tommy really hadn’t been told more than that.

Tommy was “walking” around in loops in the medbay again, which was fucking stupid. He just wanted to get out of this stupid cave, and not walk around in circles using the crutches. But no... he has to stay and “regain his muscle strength” before he’s allowed out.

It was pissing him off.

What made him more pissed off is that they were right. He got tired really easily just from using the crutches. It wasn’t even real walking!

He wasn’t allowed to have anymore regen either, as his leg had to “heal naturally” since he had so many already. Something about “too many potions in such a short time will overload your body”. So he was stuck with a broken leg.

At least he had Tubbo still. And Niki visited often.

Tommy paused, panting. He’d only been at it for a few minutes and he was already out of breath. Stupid “healing process” bullshit.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and Tommy jerked his head around, hobbling slightly as he tried to turn and face the person.

It was Dream, and he backed up a few steps, raising his hands to show he wasn’t a threat.

Tommy stared at him, tilting his head to the side in the universal “what?” gesture with an annoyed look on his face.

Dream kind of shifted slightly, before he reached up and took off his mask.

He took off his mask.

Tommy felt his face immediately turn confused as he blinked rapidly, unsure if what he just witnessed was real. Dream had never, not once, taken his mask off in front of him.

Dream was good-looking in a way, with green eyes, freckles, and blonde hair. He looked uncomfortable with how Tommy was staring at him, but he didn’t say anything.

_“P-H-I-L S-A-Y E-A-S-I-E-R,”_ Dream signed, then gesturing to his face

Dream SIGNED.

This man was being all sorts of confusing today. First, he takes off his mask, then he starts SIGNING. Who taught him to sign?

Phil was right about the mask thing, though. Facial expressions hold an important role in sign language. A sign could completely change in meaning if the person signing had a particular expression on.

“Who taught you?” Tommy asked, since his hands were occupied with the crutches.

_“T-E-C-H-N-O,”_ Dream spelled out his name instead of using his name sign, so he must not know. _“C-O-M-E.”_

“What?”

Dream just shook his head and gestured for him to follow him. He turned and said something to Tubbo too, causing Tubbo to get up and follow him out. Tommy stared after them for a moment, before shrugging and hobbling on the crutches after them.

There were stairs that led down out of the medbay, and both Dream and Tubbo had to stop and wait for Tommy to slowly make his way down them. Tubbo went to try and help, but Tommy just shot him a look and stubbornly kept going.

Dream led them to the tunnels, which had a ramp instead of stairs, so it was slightly easier to go on. The narrow bits made Tommy nervous, as the crutches weren’t exactly the most nimble of things to use, but he managed.

Finally, though, they emerged into Manburg.

Where everyone was waiting for them.

Techno, Bad, Wilbur (with hands tied and being guarded by Punz), Purpled, Ponk, Schlatt, Niki, Phil, George, Sapnap, Callahan, Quackity, Fundy, Ant, Skeppy, Eret, and Tommy was sure there were others, but he was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of people.

He’d never really felt overwhelmed surrounded by people before, so this was slightly strange.

But they were... yelling? Cheering maybe. And Tommy could HEAR it.

It sounded like a muffled roar, but it was something other than silence, which Tommy was grateful for. In fact, he was 90% sure he had a dumb smile on his face just because of the noise, but he didn’t try to hide it.

“What?” He asked, his eyes zoning in on Phil, Techno, and Wilbur, as they were the ones that could tell him the easiest.

Phil just shook his head, smiled, and gestured for him to follow.

Tommy glanced at Tubbo, who shrugged. They both turned and followed Phil, mostly out of curiosity.

Tommy didn’t really want to admit it, but his arms were getting sore from using the crutches, and he was getting really tired. That didn’t deter him from following Phil to the best of his ability.

He was vaguely aware of the crowd not too far behind them.

They traveled for a little bit, Tommy progressively slowing down due to how tired he was. It was kind of pissing him off, that he couldn’t keep going.

He hadn’t realized he’d stopped until there was a gentle hand on his shoulder. Techno was looking at him with slight-concern in his face. _“Ok?”_

“Just a minute,” Tommy huffed.

He then yelped, as Techno suddenly picked him up like he weighed nothing. Tommy wrapped his arms around Techno’s neck, scared that he was going to be dropped, as Techno essentially started to give him a piggy back ride like he used to do when they were kids.

“Put me down,” Tommy protested, too worried about falling to bother signing.

Tommy could feel Techno laugh, and he shook his head.

Tommy looked around, trying to find someone to help, but everyone either seemed to be laughing or trying not to laugh. Tubbo was carrying his crutches for him though, and just rolled his eyes when Tommy met his gaze.

Though he was embarrassed, he didn’t struggle as Techno carried him through the forest and up a short hill.

There was a house at the top.

Tommy blinked at it. He’d never seen it before, and it definitely looked recently built despite how nice it was. It was decently large, from what he could tell from the outside.

Techno shifted Tommy’s weight, and Tommy could tell that he was being slowly lowered to the ground. He stood on his good leg, using Techno’s shoulder for balance, until Tubbo passed his crutches over.

Everybody was staring at him and Tubbo now, giant grins on their faces. Tommy just stared at them blankly, and Tubbo had a matching look of confusion.

Tubbo’s head snapped around towards Schlatt, who was still wearing that blue sweater of his. Tommy looked over at him too.

Schlatt pointed at the house, and then with unsteady, unsure hands... _“F-O-R you.”_

Tommy narrowed his eyes, feeling something tickle the back of his throat. He thought that made a noise, but he wasn’t sure. He pointed at himself and raised an eyebrow. “Me?” He asked.

Schlatt nodded, his mouth moving. Something short, that makes Tubbo brighten up instantly and has him responding. Tommy glances back and forth between them before looking away, frustration eating its way through him.

Someone poked him in the arm, making him look up. It was Niki, smiling brightly at him.

_“B-O-T-H of you,”_ Niki signed, gesturing at him and Tubbo. _“S-K-E-P-P-Y gave back D-I-S-K.”_

That’d be good, if he could actually listen to it.

Tommy pushed away the thought. “When did this...” he waved at the house. “When?”

Niki frowned, and turned to Wilbur, who wasn’t far away. She asked him something, and he nodded.

_“They’ve been working on it while you recovered,”_ Wilbur signed, looking slightly pained as he translated. _“A gift from M-A-N-B-U-R-G, as a thank you for the warning. A... A promise that you will not be involved in any other conflicts that you do not specifically ask to be a part of. I agree with them. You’ve sacrificed enough. I’m glad they could make this for you both.”_

Tommy stared at him, steeling his expression so that way it didn’t betray his anger. A sacrifice that wouldn’t have needed to be made, if Wilbur hadn’t pressed that damn button.

Tubbo tugged on his arm, smiling. _“Go?”_

Tommy glanced at him, his face softening, and he nodded.

Knowing Tubbo, he probably wanted to bolt into the house and explore, but instead, he held back and walked with Tommy slowly up to the door and opened it.

The inside seemed to be just as big as the outside. A fireplace with two couches nearby was on one side of the room, and a kitchen was on the other. A staircase was directly across from the door, and a door beside it, flush against the wall.

Tommy hobbled inside, reaching forward and running his hand over the staircase railing, trying to remind himself this was actually real.

A hand gently brushed his shoulder, and Tommy turned, glancing towards who it was.

_“You L-I-K-E?”_ Niki signed, clearly unable to contain her excitement.

Tommy blinked, before a soft smile wormed its way on his face, and he nodded.

———

Tommy couldn’t sleep.

His new room was dark. He had a window and he’d opened the curtains, but not very much light came through it.

The medbay always had torches lit, no matter the time of day. Had he just gotten used to constant flickering lighting?

God, it was so dark.

He’d never really had a problem with the dark before. But now... he hated it. He couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything. If someone something came into his room right now to kill him, he wouldn’t be able to do a single thing. He wouldn’t even KNOW.

Irrational fear gripped his heart and refused to let him sleep, to even let him move. All he could do was stare into the dark, terrified to close his eyes, for hours.

No one was with him. In the medbay, Tubbo was always there. Wilbur too, for a while, and Bad could be found there most nights. But now there wasn’t a single person.

If Tommy fell asleep and something happened, he would have no idea. Not a single clue. He was reliant on his body to wake itself up, or for someone to wake him up, so if something went wrong, he’d be completely oblivious.

Tommy eventually forced himself up and grabbed his crutches, hobbling out of his room. He was on the ground floor, due to his leg being broken. Tubbo was upstairs.

He could do this.

Climbing the stairs was a slow, nerve-wracking process. At any moment he could fall and not even be able to catch himself.

Step-by-step, heart increasing in speed until he finally reached the top. He hoped he was being quiet, but he had no idea.

Tommy peeked into Tubbo’s room. The older boy was flung out on the bed, ensnared in blankets. There were a couple that he must have kicked onto the floor in his sleep.

This wasn’t weird, right? No, it wasn’t weird. Probably.

Tommy slowly went inside, laying his crutches on the floor and snatching one of the forgotten blankets. He laid down on the floor, pulling the blanket over himself as he stared up at the ceiling.

He still didn’t like how dark it was, but the fear was less prominent with Tubbo nearby.

He was asleep on the cold floor mere minutes after laying down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *casually slides this towards you even though i already posted something today*

**Author's Note:**

> Agshgkjgjkg this idea wouldn’t leave my head so here you go. I learned Morse Code for this.
> 
> Come yell at me on Twitter: @Rose12610  
> Leave a comment they give me serotonin.


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